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Art Comes Alive At 20th Annual World Bodypainting Festival

These bodypainters deserve lots of ink.
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

Art truly came alive this past weekend in Klagenfurt, Austria, which hosted the 20th annual World Bodypainting Festival.

More than 60 artists from all over the world took part in the three-day festival, which hosted competitions in categories like special effects bodypainting, brush and sponge painting, and ultraviolet effects.

As the pictures below show, the elaborately painted bodies are frames for grand statements by artists such as Germany’s Karen Dinger. She created a painting called “Utopia,” featuring heart-shaped red and white wings that stretch from the model’s head to knee-level.

The piece took six hours to complete, she said.

She told Reuters the piece “stands for a world in which all dreams come true.”

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Model Anna Lisa, painted by German artist Karen Dinger.
Reuters

Other outstanding examples can be seen below:

Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Jan Hetfleisch via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images
Didier Messens via Getty Images

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Before You Go

Bodypainting
(01 of25)
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Zickel: “The paint was a little cold going on. But then it became a rather soothing experience.” (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(02 of25)
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On Bodypainting Day, roughly 70 artists and 100 models will gather at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, near the United Nations. The models will be fully naked as artists apply paint. Once finished, they'll board buses and tour Manhattan. (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(03 of25)
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Zickel: “I feel that Andy drew some of my core self out of me. The crazy, the grotesque, yet funny parts.” (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(04 of25)
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Golub: “I see the patterns on this woman’s body as not happy, not sad. They're seeking, looking for truth.” (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(05 of25)
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Golub: "Every year Bodypainting Day changes, and the theme is what drives that. The theme this year is inner beauty. To find that, the artist has to look within himself and draw inspiration from the spirit of the model he's working with." (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(06 of25)
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Golub: "I feed off the energy of the model. And there was a lot of that going on today. What we have here is a deep and a complex painting." (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(07 of25)
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Golub: "It's up to the artist to look to the body and the spirit within the body for inspiration." (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(08 of25)
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Golub is no stranger to the streets of New York City. He frequently paints all-nude figures in Times Square. (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(09 of25)
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Golub has long been an advocate for free expression, and has worked to forge a good working relationship with police. (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(10 of25)
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We followed Andy one day when he set out to work, and the results were just glorious. (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(11 of25)
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Zickel: "It's amazing how quickly it began to feel like new skin." (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(12 of25)
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Zickel: "Andy and I never met before today. He said to me that when you body paint under these circumstances, you can feel very vulnerable. But that can be very good for the art." (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(13 of25)
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Golub: "Even when you paint the same model over and over, it's different each time because I’ll be in a different place and the model will be in a different place.“ (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
(14 of25)
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Zickel: “There was a mirror … and Damon showed me what was going on. And I looked so much different. Before that, I could look down, of course. But obviously, I didn't know what’s going on on my back.” (credit:Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post)
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